. I’m not jumping for joy this Christmas. I’m remembering those 20 kids who were massacred in Connecticut, and what effect their deaths are on their families. I wonder what the parents are feeling now. I wonder what the other 6 year old twin is feeling now that her sibling is gone. I wonder what the parents are thinking as they go over their dead child’s stuff… their clothes, shoes, toys, and the change of clothes before they went to school and never came home. . I’m not a parent, but I feel the pain so much. My tears have not dried up.

________________________

.To be honest, Christmas always makes me feel nostalgic and long for all the happier Christmases past.

________________________

So, anyway, this post is about my trip to Avignon and Carcassone. Avignon and Carcassone were mere side trips, although we did stay overnight in Carcassone.

Avignon is also called ” The city of Popes” because the Popes made Avignon their residence for over 100 years. This happened during the Papacy’s schism when there were 2 rival Popes who assumed the papacy, one residing in Rome, the other in Avignon.

The population of Avignon is 100,000, and about 12,000 live within the ancient town centre that is enclosed by medieval ramparts or defensive walls

Below is the enclosed medieval town center, courtesy of Wikepedia.

.Photos below are the only ones I have of Avignon. It was raining very hard , and we stayed for 4 hours or so. We had lunch there and I also had “lavander” gelato ( ice cream). Growing lavander flowers ( for the essential oils) is one of Avignon’s main produce.

.

Do you see that red hood at right hand corner? That’s yours truly, ha ha. This time , that’s the only thing you see of me, he he he… No Monaco – like stuff.

.The photo below is the panoramic view of the center, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Next is Carcassone..

Carcassone consists of 2 areas, the upper part which is heavily fortified, surrounded by 2 outer walls ( double ramparts) of concentric design. The fortress that time was considered impregnable. The lower part is the area outside the fortress. There are 53 towers, one of which is called The Inquisition Tower. It was used during the Catholic Inquisition. ( I don’t like to talk about the Catholic Inquistion. Suffice it to say that the Inquisitors did indeed use torture to break the will of those they considered heretics ) I saw one original torture equipment employed by the Catholic Church . It ain’t pretty.

Below are photos of the fortress , courtesy of Wikepedia.

.

.Above is the view from my hotel room. Super, huh.

.Above photo is a medieval bridge going to the fort.

Another old bridge…..

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.So that’s it for Avignon and Carcassone.

I was supposed to post this before Christmas but I was so busy with holiday activities. At work, there were so many late holiday shoppers. The best one was on Christmas Eve when a Hongkong businessman came in, a regular client, who bought all the clothes I showed him, mostly Runway clothes. Runway meaning, clothes that have been designed for a runway show of the designer. I wore each design and showed it to him. So happy that he bought the designs, all sizes. I got a free Runway blouse for a job well done. I’m sure I’m going to get another silver circle.

Of course we knew the businessman was coming, so I had to wear a 4 inch heels, put on makeup, do my hair, etc. I got 2 more free runway dresses this december. Almost all our big time clients are Asians ( Japanese, Chinese, Singaporean, Indonesians, Koreans )…. I’m Asian, so I;m the one who gets to wear and show off the clothes. I have the body build of an Asian , petite, small boned, etc. They want to see how each dress looks on an Asian girl. So, yeah, that’s part of my job. And I always get something free, right off the bat. Like that red blouse. My manager told me not to take it off anymore. It’s mine.

Merry Christmas girl! Hope you had a great one. I got you a runway blouse, but seeing that you have it already, I’ve since taken it back and blown the money on carbonated milk. Really, the blouse is gorgeous! Happy holidays, Nene!

Hi Nene!!! I’m a man of many languages. Actually, I Googled ‘younger sister’ in Google and that’s what it came up with, although I know ‘Nene’ isn’t a direct translation. Sweet! I was a tad nervous that it wouldn’t make any sense whatsoever. My Christmas was very good, and I hope yours was as well. : )

Nene is like a term of endearment, like, little one? No, not really. It’s just a common name given to the youngest one. But then, when my parents are angry , they call me by my, well, real nickname, the name my friends and family call me. I have 2 first names, and you’ll be surprised what they are. They are old school Spanish names, like, Maria Esperanza. Ha ha

Ha ha ha Renxkyoko has been my avatar’s signature’s for a long time, and I got it from my most favorite manga characters of SKIP BEAT, Tsuruga Ren and Mogami Kyoko. This is a manga that I’ve been following and reading since highschool, and been addicted to. I have dedicated my blogsite to these two, hehe. Hence, this is called Renxkyoko’s Space.

Wow. You look great in the blouse. Good for you that you do your job so well that you get the occasional free stuff! It’s well deserved I think. 😉

I remember Avignon and Carcassone. I also remember seeing so much lavender in Avignon. I love the smell and color of lavender. To be honest, I secretly picked one lavender as a keepsake for my journal. Except, I believe we were told not to pick them. XD Oh well. It’s now well preserved in my old journal from years past. Memories!

Simpleek, we have so much lavender plants at our backyard ! ! Did you go to the Perfumery? Avignon supplies this company with the flowers. I bought a lot of lavender soaps. Expensive though, like US$4 a piece.

Yes, we did in fact! The place we went to was Fragonard I believe? Was that the one you went to? My mom bought their variety set a long time ago, and she gave me one to keep. I use it sparingly and after all these years, the fragrance is still very fresh. Not stale at all. 🙂

Noelle, I’m going to post the pics of the dresses. I’m so happy . It’s like having outfits by a famous designer, and they are not even retail, they have been desinged for a fashion show ! ! Whoooo ! There are quite a few that I’ve seen celebrities wearing the same design that we’re selling at the store.

About those kids…… sometimes I just wish I wouldn’t think about them anymore. That way, feelings would go away.

Happy New Year, and cheers to both of us. And say Hi to Daniel for me, ha ha ha…..

Stunning post,you have captured with your pictures most beautiful aspect of life in Europe,by the way l visited few European countries myself.I am glad you enjoyed your time there.Who sees Europe will go back again.Have a healthy ,happy and successful 2013.Thank you so much for liking my post(farewell…)Jalal Michael

Ren we’ve been to so many similar places in summer! Not Avignon in particular, I’ve not been there, but other places. Imagine if we randomly bumped into each other somewhere, like Nice? You look lovely in that blouse, and in those Monaco photos, why were people bothered by it?

Happy New Year, Ren!
wow look at you fashion model 😉 You look lovely in the blouse ^_^
getting freebies as part of your job?! Nice! um you could throw some swag my way, I wouldn’t complain at all…I mean sharing is caring!!! 🙂
I am kidding!!!

size zero? ack! I think that is the size of my pinkie! Just kiddng! Yes I do still have it!! grumble. Lost 10 pounds, but Im trying to gain it back by eating…then losing it when I do…sigh…
how was your new year? did you party it up?

Nice to see you getting some free clothes. Good for you. I’ver actually been to Carcassone so I remember what it was like. I’ve really loved reading your Blog in 2012, and want to wish you a happy and fruitful 2013

Ren it looks like you had a wonderful time, and that the holiday season was a very good one. Happy new year to you, and i pray many more wonderful blessings come your way! You are deserving! Its a wonderful thing to have you as a sister and friend! God bless!

Thank you ! ! You know, I have subscribed to you, but I just noticed I have not been getting updates from your blog. Maybe it’s on My Reader. Problem is, I haven’t been checking My Reader. My email folder has 7000 unread emails now. I’m simply overwhelmed.

I am sorry for your trouble, I have about the same amount of unread emails, most of them from wordpress. But for now, you can be certain that my new post will appear every Thursday, I only post once a week, so I hope it doesn’t add a burden to you.

Yeah…mostly from wordpress…the others from my choir in Singapore. They don’t want to let go of me so they still send me study guides and musical pieces of the songs they are practicing. And some are job alerts…hehehe….they just keep piling up…hahaha

hello, Ren… just going over your pics of medieval Europe again, ahaha. how are things with you, hey? you’re always busy, you’re supposed to have a love na, hehe. 😉

hey, would you like to guest-post, dear? sa ssa or sa english – sa 35and up. it would be fun and an honor… excited na ‘ko, maski di ka pa pumapayag, haha. hope to hear from you. 🙂 warm regards… 🙂 ~ate san

about anything, actually, ahaha. may i suggest? hmn, i’d like to hear your take on excellence and compassion, an elusive mix in these hard, modern times… something like that, hehe. kill me, now. or, the day after tomorrow, haha.